Iox
by Mandy da Kitty
Summary: The humid air on Iox reeked of alien life. The sounds of wildlife had long been replaced by the slurping of many digestive tracks as layers of Tyranid life forms overtook once bright green vegetation...


The humid air on Iox reeked of alien life. The sounds of wildlife had long been replaced by the slurping of many digestive tracks as layers of Tyranid life forms overtook once bright green vegetation. These pinkish-purple plantbeasts ate away every resource this planet had to offer and turned it into a primal soup fit for the hive. It disgusted Wolf Lord Blackmane and only fueled his anger as he cut through the now alien trees, leading his squad of Space Wolf Marines deeper into the thick of the jungle.  
  
Bolt pistols and frost blades at the ready, the group of fifteen Blood Claws followed their leader. They used their hyper-strong senses to look over the area, knowing all too well that battle was upon them. Indeed, they could smell the blood of their brothers who had fell here trying to retake this planet back from the swarm.  
  
There was a sudden pause as their leader stopped, head bolting up to look into the mass that was once a large tree. He lifted his bolt pistol up as a termagant, it's blue-black exoskeleton tinted with orange at the edges, leaped from the mass and landed on top of Blackmane. He grunted as the termagant's weight smashed into him, but kept his footing and lodged several bullets up through the creature's chest. It went limp from Blackmane and fell to the ground.  
  
"The swarm!" a random marine cried out as the sounds of a thousand feet came rushing toward them.  
  
Blackmane brandished his frost blade. "Let them come." He inhaled deeply as the creatures charged through the bush. "ATTACK!"  
  
Weapons fired as the marines shouted war cries and advanced on the first swarm of hormogaunt and termagants who swept through them like liquid metal. Small swarms of rippers came from the underbrush, biting at the ankles of the marines. Armor weakened by termagant's deadly biowepons was cracked and arms and legs removed as hormogaunts swarmed into close combat attacks. They clawed and bit until falling into crumpled masses under the marine's feet and bullets. Yet it looked like for every bug the marine's killed another took it's place.  
  
Blackmane roared as he removed a head clean from a termagant's shoulders, fully immersed in the heat of battle. A loud crack radiated through the air and he turned to see trees being ripped out of the ground and tossed aside by the a huge Tyrant and a small band of Warriors who decided to join in the fray. The Tyrant roared loudly, deafening on the Wolf Lord's already advanced hearing.  
  
He raised his bolt pistol towards the creature. "YOU DO NOT FRIGHTEN ME!"   
  
The Tyrant snarled in return and went to claw Blackmane in half as the Wolf Lord shot a single bullet towards the huge Tyranid's head. The bullet passed through right between the Tyrant's eyes. It fell hard, shaking the ground with a mighty force.  
  
And than all the action stopped.  
  
Every Tyranid and Marine stood frozen; blood and bullets suspended in midair. It was a picture of all the year 40,000 was about.   
  
A voice rang out in the silent air. "That's not fair!"  
  
From between the silenced swarm, a young redheaded girl stepped out. She looked over the battle and firmly placed her hands on her hips. Meanwhile, a young man walked towards her from within the space marines.   
  
"Mandy, don't pout."  
  
The girl stamped a foot. "But Neil, you can take out my tyrant in one shot!" she cried, pointing at the fallen Tyranid.   
  
Neil sighed as he stepped over a fallen termagant and was next to her. "It's not my fault it's armor save is so low." He placed an arm around her shoulders.  
  
Mandy looked up at him pitifully. "No do-over?" Neil shook his head in a firm 'no'. She kicked the dirt. "Awwwww."  
  
Neil kissed her forehead softly. "It's okay. You still have a chance to win."  
  
Mandy brightened a little. "You think so?"  
  
Neil nodded. "Sure! You have plenty of troops left, and those warriors are pretty nasty looking…"  
  
"YAY!" Mandy leaned up to give Neil a kiss on the lips. "Let's play some more!" She ran back into her swarm of bugs and called over her shoulder, "Loser has to wash dishes!"  
  
Neil watched her run off for a moment before turning back to the marines. He walked back into their ranks, pausing a moment to lay a hand on Blackmane's shoulder.  
  
"Give her Hell. I've washed dishes all week."  
  
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If you are raising an eyebrow at the last bit, this was a fic I wrote as a gift for my Spacewolf play'n fiancee. =) 


End file.
